


Powerless

by floatingaway4



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, fake legal stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4
Summary: “Do you know what I’ve had to put up with in the last twelve hours?”Henry wants to point out that in that same twelve hours he’s had his body sliced open and an organ removed, but this doesn’t seem to be the time. He also got to sleep through his experience, while Alex was very much awake while dealing with Henry’s family. And Henry got the nice drugs, while Alex looks like he could use a drink.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 49
Kudos: 326





	Powerless

Alex knocks on Henry’s door when he goes back in his room but doesn’t wait for a response. He was just being polite, and he wasn’t going to go overboard about it. Not after the night he’s had. 

Henry looks up from the bed, eyes still a little bleary and unfocused. He’d barely been awake the last time Alex was in his room. 

Alex crosses his arms and paces back and forth in front of the bed, glaring at the ugly pink vinyl floor. “We have to get married,” he says without looking up. 

“All right,” Henry replies calmly. 

Alex continues to pace. “Do you know who I am to you, Henry? I’m no one. I’m a fucking _acquaintance_.” 

Henry, still a little nauseated from the anesthesia, has to keep his head pressed against the horrible, stiff, scratchy pillow as he watches Alex zip angrily back and forth.

“Do you know what I’ve had to put up with in the last twelve hours?” 

Henry wants to point out that in that same twelve hours he’s had his body sliced open and an organ removed, but this doesn’t seem to be the time. He also got to sleep through his experience, while Alex was very much awake while dealing with Henry’s family. And Henry got the nice drugs, while Alex looks like he could use a drink.

“Right after we got here, all these embassy people and representatives of the fucking Crown showed up. Apparently there’s some sort of protocol that has to happen when one of you gets hurt. They initiated a security lockdown, like there’d been an attempt on your life instead of a bad appendix. And once they did, I got shoved to the side.” He swings an arm out, whacking the end of the bed as he does. 

Henry thinks there’s almost certainly a similar protocol that would be followed if something happened to Alex. They're especially vulnerable while under anesthesia and it does provide an opportunity for anyone who wants to hurt them. He opens his mouth and closes it again. Alex isn’t finished.

“Shaan has all kinds of legal rights to make decisions about you, because your grandmother signed off on that years ago. But you know who they never put on the paperwork?” He glances over at Henry before continuing to lecture the floor. “They shut me out of everything. They wouldn’t even let me in to _see_ you until Shaan intervened. And they wouldn’t tell me anything about your condition,” Alex fumes. “The fucking guy at the desk shuffled through a bunch of official looking forms and said since I’m not related to you, he couldn’t give me any information.” 

When Alex looks up at him, finally, Henry sees the absolute wreckage of the night on his face. His eyes are bright with angry tears. His face is red and puffy and he obviously hasn’t slept. Of the two of them, Henry might actually be in better physical shape right at this moment. 

Henry feels terrible and guilty and overwhelmed. Alex had been worried about him all day yesterday... _was it just yesterday?_ when Henry kept complaining of pain in his side. He thought he’d just pulled a muscle when he went running. But then he’d had to wake Alex up sometime after midnight to tell him they needed to go to the hospital. He remembers Alex leaning over and touching his forehead, telling him he was burning up. He has a vague memory of Alex cussing up a storm when they arrived at the ER and someone took Henry into an exam room alone. Then he just remembers sharp pain, doctors murmuring to each other about his appendix, someone telling him he’d be having surgery...and then waking up in recovery asking for Alex. Instead, some official looking diplomatic people were in his room, along with unfamiliar security people, and Shaan, who looked extremely uncomfortable. Later, Henry would think it was all a drug-induced dream. 

Some indeterminate amount of time later, Shaan had finally come into Henry's private room with Alex, who looked stressed and sad and really, really pissed off, enough that Henry’s drug-addled mouth had blurted out a confused apology. 

Alex had laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. “What are you sorry for? I’m not mad at _you_ , sweetheart.” And he’d held Henry’s hand and told him he loved him over and over and over and brushed his forehead with his fingers and his lips and everything had seemed okay. But that was before Henry found out the hell Alex had been in all night. He’d already heard most of the official details from Shaan and bits and pieces from Alex the last time he came in. Obviously, Alex has been somewhere stewing over all of this. 

“At four in the goddamn morning, Shaan came to tell me that the Queen was considering having you flown to London after the surgery. _London,_ babe,” Alex practically yells. 

“And do you know what I could have done to stop that, Henry? Fucking nothing.” Alex throws his hands in the air and continues to pace back and forth at the end of the bed, his voice thick with tears. “And once she gets you there, you know she’d keep me away from you.” He points at Henry as though he has argued with him, as though Henry has gotten even one word in edgewise. “She would, just out of fucking spite.” 

Henry wants to say that his mother and sister would never allow Gran to lock Henry away somewhere, but he doesn’t have the chance. 

“I’m your...your…” Alex waves his hands in the air, searching for the right word, “ _roommate_. That’s how much legal right I have to make decisions about you. That’s...” 

Finally, Henry sees Alex stop moving and deflate a little, his eyes darting around the room as he searches his memory. “You said yes.” 

Henry nods. “Of course I did, darling. Now, would you please come here?”

Alex looks oddly uncertain, and Henry shoots him a tired smile. “Love, I need to touch you and I can’t get up,” Henry explains,“and I also need you to stand still because you’re making me a bit dizzy.”

Alex walks over and slumps onto the edge of the bed. Henry rests a gentle hand on his cheek. “We were always going to get married, Alex, unless I have seriously misinterpreted the last year of our lives.” 

Alex sighs and carefully rests his head against Henry’s shoulder. “I didn’t want it to be like this, baby. I wanted to have a big wedding, give you what you deserve.” 

Henry hears the sadness in Alex’s voice. He’s pretty sure Alex wouldn’t be this sentimental if he weren’t beyond exhausted. He tilts Alex’s chin up and smiles as he wipes the tears from Alex’s cheeks. “I _deserve_ a big wedding? Do you think that’s what I want? Have you forgotten the last big royal wedding we attended?” 

Alex rests his forehead on Henry’s shoulder for another second, then sits up again. “I just want you to have,” he shrugs as he strokes Henry’s forearm, “everything, you know?”

Henry reaches for Alex and pulls him in, holds him as tightly as he’s able. He can feel the jittery muscle twitches under Alex's skin that mean he's had too much coffee and too little rest. “This doesn’t necessarily preclude us from having a larger ceremony, darling. It’s just what we have to do for practicality’s sake.” He kisses the top of Alex’s head. “And I never want either of us to go through anything like that again.” Henry sighs heavily, feeling guilty again that he never prepared for this possibility. “If someone tried to keep me from you when you were hurt, I don’t know what I would do. I don’t like to think of myself as a violent person but...” 

Alex smirks where Henry can’t see him. No matter what, he can’t imagine Henry hurting anyone. “Sure, babe. I think you’d just start issuing royal proclamations,” Alex sniffs and grins up at him. 

“You know, love, in that situation, I might actually throw my title around if it got me closer to you,” Henry allows. 

Alex reaches up to cup Henry’s head with his palm and presses a kiss to his lips. “I like the idea of you barking out orders to get to me,” Alex smiles a tired smile. Henry was only out of it for a few hours, but Alex _missed_ him. 

Henry reaches for Alex’s hand but Alex hisses and pulls it away. Henry grabs it again, finally noticing the scrapes on his knuckles. “Alex, what…?” 

Alex looks sheepish. He won’t meet Henry’s eyes. “I was mad and no one would tell me anything and, um, I kind of punched the wall in the waiting room.” 

Henry stares at him, wide eyed. “Is it broken? Has anyone looked at this?” 

“Of course someone looked at it, we’re in a hospital.” Henry gives him a skeptical look. “It’s fine, I just...it’s fine...” 

Henry feels Alex fall into his side, like he just can’t hold himself up any longer. “I was just so scared,” Alex says in a small, almost childlike voice that Henry realizes must be coming from deep inside, a place of vulnerability Alex can’t hide or bluster over. “You were in so much pain, and I couldn’t do anything about it, and then I couldn’t get to you.” He exhales a shaky breath. “And I know it’s a routine surgery but still something could go wrong and I…” He finally looks up into Henry’s face. “If I lost you, I’d...”

Henry holds him as tightly as he can, rubs his back and kisses his temple. “You didn’t, I’m right here.” 

Henry sighs, wanting to remove every bit of sadness from Alex’s face. He decides to take care of at least one thing immediately. “Alex, love, could you ask Shaan to come in for a moment?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Alex says, looking uncertain again. “You want me to wait in the hall?” 

“No, you can stay. I’d prefer it if you would. I just need him to do something for me, as soon as possible.” 

Alex presses a quick kiss to Henry’s forehead before he jumps up and steps into the hallway. He comes back a moment later with Shaan. 

“Sir?” 

Henry tries his best to sit up a little, still used to some level of formality with Shaan. He reaches for Alex’s hand, so Alex returns to his spot on the edge of the bed. “I understand Gran was threatening to have me flown to England?” 

Shaan nods, lips pressed tightly together. “Yes, sir. She was concerned about the quality of care here, and that you would not receive the treatment that should be afforded to someone of your status.” 

Henry nods and squeezes Alex’s hand, like he’s clinging to a life preserver. “I see.”

Shaan clears his throat. “She ordered that if the results of your surgery were not satisfactory, you were to return to England for further treatment.” 

“Shaan,” Henry says, “please look into whatever paperwork needs to be drawn up to provide Alex with power of attorney should I ever be incapacitated again. I’m not going back to England,” he turns to look at Alex, “unless Alex or I make that choice.” Alex smiles at him and picks up Henry’s hand to kiss his knuckles. 

“And please tell my grandmother--”

“I’ll get right on that paperwork, sir,” Shaan interrupts with a grin, as he hurries out the door. 

Alex looks into Henry’s eyes as Henry falls back into the pillows, his energy almost completely spent. He brushes a hand through Henry’s hair, then takes his hand again. “I’ll do one for you too, baby. But do you think that’s enough?” 

“Oh, no, we’re still getting married,” Henry smiles at him. “You proposed, you can’t back out now,” he grins and plays with Alex’s fingers. 

Alex looks indignant. “That was not a proposal. Your proposal is gonna be the shit, babe.” 

Henry closes his eyes, exhaustion beginning to overtake him. “I’m sure it will be, love. I think I need…” and he falls asleep, effectively finishing the sentence. 

Alex gently kisses Henry’s forehead again and stays wrapped around him for a while. Eventually, he disentangles himself from the bed and tracks down the hospital chaplain. 

Alex finds out they can’t get married immediately. First, they need to fill out forms with the city clerk’s office to get a marriage license. Once they have it, they can get married 24 hours later. They’re supposed to appear at the office in person, so they'll have to wait til Henry is better. Frustrated, Alex parks himself in Henry’s room and refuses to leave for more than a few minutes at a time. Shaan has the power of attorney paperwork ready and Henry and Alex have both signed it before Henry is even discharged the next day. 

It turns out the woman at the city clerk’s office has been a fan of the royal family for years. It’s obviously not the first celebrity wedding they’ve handled, because when Alex explains their situation, she agrees to bring the paperwork to the house. She tells them she’s required to sit and watch them fill everything out. 

Alex has to laugh when she explains that whatever names they write on the form will immediately become their legal names. Deciding to get married was easy. Deciding how to write their names on the license is the tricky part. 

“Oh my god, we have to decide this for real, right now,” Alex says, holding up his form. 

“I see that,” Henry nods. 

The clerk smiles at them, clearly enjoying this, but wisely chooses to stay out of it. 

Alex looks over at her, hoping he’s at peak cuteness. “Look, as long as we promise not to write anything, can we be alone for a few minutes to discuss this?” 

She nods, but insists they leave the forms with her. They retreat to their bedroom. 

Alex looks at Henry with his mouth open, throws his arms out wide, and laughs. They’ve joked about it, but never discussed an actual plan for this. 

Henry laughs too, grimacing and holding his side when he does. 

“Shit, sorry, sweetheart. Don’t laugh,” Alex tells him. “We don’t have to change them at all, if we don’t want to. We can just both keep our names.” 

Henry nods and sits down gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Okay, let’s be logical about this. I’m not allowed to change my name to yours, so that’s out.” 

Alex sits next to Henry and takes his hand. “I have actually thought about this,” Alex says slowly, “and I have an opinion, but I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.” 

Henry looks at him, expectantly. 

“I’m proud of my name. And I guess I always assumed I’d marry a woman, and men don’t traditionally take their wives’ names...so I thought my name would never change.” Henry nods, unsure of where Alex is going with this. He’d never want Alex to do anything that made him uncomfortable. He sees Alex staring at his own left hand, touching his ring finger. 

After a moment, he looks back up into Henry’s face. “But the thing is, I want your name connected to mine, I do. But I want it to be _your_ name, not the royal name or the queen’s name, or some name that’s been used to oppress people for centuries...” He looks at Henry like he wants to apologize for not wanting the same name as the person who made Henry so miserable for so long. 

But of course Henry immediately understands. He kisses Alex, one of his favorite ways to make him stop talking. “So, just Fox then?” 

Alex nods quickly. “Yeah, Claremont-Diaz Fox. I mean, what’s one more last name? You have four first names, so that should balance things out.” He pauses, wanting to be absolutely sure Henry understands. “It makes me feel like I’m part of all those families, like I belong to my mom’s family, and to my dad’s family, and now to yours.” 

Henry thinks about how Alex started this conversation. “It doesn’t make you feel like less of a man?” he asks, worried Alex will regret his decision. 

Alex kisses Henry, hard. His voice is a whisper, dark with intent, with promise. “Nothing about loving you makes me feel like less of a man, baby.” 

Alex can see Henry thinking, then he nods. “Okay.” 

“Yeah?” 

Henry smiles at him, bright and happy. “I like that. I think...I think my father would've liked it, too.” He kisses Alex’s hand, gently, right over the still-visible scars. “You’ve felt like part of my family for so long….I’m glad it’s our name now.” 

Alex shakes his head, then laughs, blinking tears away. “Well, hell, that was easy.” He stands up, still holding Henry’s hand. “Let’s go do some paperwork.” 

Twenty-four hours and one minute later, June, Nora, and Pez are in their living room. Bea facetimes in and plays the violin while they walk down the stairs and across the room. Someone, probably Pez, managed to get a bow tie on David. Henry is still sore and smells a little bit like the hospital. June marries them in her first ceremony as a newly ordained officiant of the first internet church that came up in a google search. Nora is Alex’s Best Person and Pez is Henry’s. They don’t tell anyone else, not even their parents, but now they each have paperwork if they ever need it again. 

They never do. 

They don’t even really talk about it, except to sometimes call each other “husband,” in situations that call for love, sarcasm, or annoyance. They don’t get rings until Alex proposes for real, and Henry admits he was right, the proposal is, indeed, “the shit.” 

But Alex occasionally makes restaurant and hotel reservations under the name Alex Fox, which makes them both laugh. Everyone assumes it’s just the fake name they use to throw off the paparazzi. They’ve always enjoyed hiding in plain sight. 

Two years later, when they have a royal wedding with all the pomp and circumstance they imagined and dreaded, they share a knowing smile while they exchange their vows, again. 

And when the bishop pronounces them married in front of television cameras and the whole world, Alex is perfectly happy to kiss his husband of two years, one more time. 

**Author's Note:**

> Is this realistic? Probably not. But I needed to create angst and drama for Alex, and we all know the Queen can be a bitch, so I decided she could make this happen.
> 
> But did I also research:  
> \--how to get a marriage license in New York?  
> \--whether a power of attorney created in the US would be valid in England? 
> 
> Why yes, yes I did.


End file.
